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July 2, 2006

From Passion to Indifference

If anyone has ever taken a piano lesson they know the difference
between being completely enthralled with the experience and being
absolutely indifferent. If you love the instrument, or any other
instrument, you will make it a point to practice every minute that is
available in any given day. Nothing, not even your friends, will keep you away from your love.

This, of course, is true of any love. Whether
it be art, dancing, reading, horseback riding, sports, crafts
etc. Whatever our love, we are willing to make any sacrifice in order
to be one with the experience. Nothing, we soon find out, is as
easy as it appears. Horse back riding, e.g., is not as easy as
simply getting oneself atop the back of the poor horse. There is
much more to it as one soon finds out. However, if the passion
for the experience is there, the time and energy follow. Passion
for an art or a sport engulfs our time, our energy, and sometimes, our
financial resources. But it doesn’t seem to bother us. We
are completely given to our love.

There are, it seems, three different groups of
people in this world. There are those who are passionate about
life and are willing to live as we mentioned above. The second
group of people are those who love the art or the sport but are not
able to bring themselves around to the level of those mentioned
above. However, they do love the experience even if they are not
able to enter fully in the action. Rather, these people
experience the joy of music or art or sports through observation.
This does not mean that they are simply bumps on the log. It means that
they love what they see or hear and enter the experience with their
heart as well as a full range of
emotion. They can fully enjoy even if is momentary, whatever it
is they choose. This love is what fills art studios, concert
halls, libraries, sports auditoriums, race tracks, etc.

The third group of people are those who find no joy
in life. I am not referring to people who are suffering from
depression. Rather there are many people who do not see the good
or the beauty of life and creation. They are not able to
appreciate all that is within their grasp. Life for this third
group of people is just a boring, difficult, and miserable experience
with not hope or love.

As human beings, we are what we are. We cannot
separate ourselves into categories, although we often attempt to.
If we are passionate we are passionate in all we do. This means
that we have the potential to be passionate about our Faith as well as
piano playing or horseback riding. If we are more comfortable
with entering the experience simply with our heart, then we will also
be that kind of person in relation to our Faith. If we are
joyless and unappreciative, our experience in Faith will follow this
same road.

If we want to be happy in life we need to belong to
the first or second group of people. There is no excuse for
belonging to the third group. If we find ourselves sitting in
this nose bleed section, we need to ask ourselves what we are doing in
life? What has led us to this point? Why have we made the
decision to be so indifferent about life in general? Have we
followed the crowd too far and too long and now find ourselves at the
point of no return? The good news is that it is never too late to
turn ourselves around. Take a leap and join the joy-filled people!